China’s Crisis

What does the fall of Bo Xilai mean for a country rapidly becoming one of the world’s great powers? In Comment this week, Evan Osnos examines the impact that the Bo scandal could have on the Chinese government:

The Bo situation has been compared to the Tiananmen Square crisis. As in 1989, it unfolds, to some degree, amid a contest of ideas about China’s economic future, pitting Bo’s determination to fortify state-owned enterprises and state investment against the resolve of those who see the need for change. But Bo did not fall because of his ideas; he fell because of his use of money and force and fear.

In surgically removing Bo from Chinese politics, the Party was humiliated but also, one senses, energized. After Bo’s dismissal, China’s cabinet, in the name of reducing corruption, ordered ministries and local governments to disclose more detail on public spending and affordable-housing construction. Optimists inside and outside the country have begun discussing the transformative potential of unexpected events. Cheng Li, of the Brookings Institution, believes that the Bo Xilai case will be “a curse if the Party pretends that its rule can remain as before, but a blessing if the Party decides to transform itself.”

Will the Chinese economy become more balanced, and the government more transparent? Or will the scandal just cause the Party to crack down, and resist further change? Read the full Comment, join Osnos for a live chat today at noon, and share your thoughts below.

Illustration by Tom Bachtell.

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